South Korea's electric vehicle (EV) exports in August increased by 22.2pc from a year earlier to 6,978 units, in line with the government's drive for export growth in a post-Covid-19 world.
The export growth was led by a spike in Kia's Niro model, which was up by 173.9pc to 3,391 units, data from South Korea's trade, industry and energy ministry (Motie) show.
But the country's total green car exports fell by 16.4pc to 16,490 units in August. South Korea's green car concept includes EVs, hybrid electric (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric (PHEVs) and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs).
Domestic sales of green cars in August rose by 85.4pc from a year earlier to 15,930 units, with the August share of these sales reaching a record high of 11.8pc of total domestic sales. Domestic sales of all types of green cars increased in August from a year earlier, with EVs up by 64.3pc to 3,849 units, HEVs up by 89.1pc to 10,821, PHEVs up by 109.7pc to 585 and FCEVs up by 173.3pc to 675 units.
The South Korean government is looking to accelerate the country's transition to a cleaner energy profile, including expanding fleets of EVs and hydrogen cars, to create jobs and create an economic recovery from the impact of Covid-19.
The government plans to invest 73.4 trillion won ($63.4bn) in energy initiatives as part of its "New Deal" programme, which is a W160 trillion package of measures to create 1.9mn jobs over the next five years. The energy portion of the initiative will create an estimated 659,000 jobs, according to Motie.